Original interview was submitted by Igor back in 2006 and as the first question states; it was the first member interview we ever did. Since finding it and brushing off the dust, I'll do a slight update/revamp to bring it somewhat current. ;-}
How does it feel to be the first Gamer of the Month in RGC history?
It is pretty exciting. Not because I am the first, but because it is a new direction and a new addition to RGC as a whole. I get enjoy when our members find new ways for us to branch out and communicate with each other and with others. So I was excited to see the idea come into reality. Being chosen to be the first to go through the process is just an added bonus.
How do you feel you have been influential to the expansion of RGC and its events?
Slightly before RGC became RGC I showed up to a Friday night game just to see what was going on and maybe talk a little about the A Game of Thrones CCG that I just started demoing up at Jimmy Jams. That is where I first met Toby, Monique, Dan, and Jesi. We all talked for awhile and Dan and Jesi taught me Munchkin. Now fast forward a bit and RGC has been formed and I find myself as interim Co-President on the Board of Directors. That is a far stretch from showing up to play a game or two.
But how do I feel I am influential? I think I bring some of the business aspect that is needed to make RGC legitimate. I think the business side of the organization was a bit overwhelming and I hope I have helped with the transition from local gaming group to a potential community name. We have come a long way from concept to reality, but there is still a lot left to be done. I like to hear new ideas and work with people on shaping the ideas that make good sense for the organization. I work for the organization whenever I can. I have worked with Tony to setup the Friday night game demoing at Chateau Theatres. I have talked about RGC to everyone I meet up at Jimmy Jams and when I am demoing and running tournaments for the A Game of Thrones CCG. I have written many articles for the e-zine and I still have hope that we can put together a great e-zine and that it will see distribution in the near future. I also make myself as available as I can for our members and for gaming. I enjoy seeing RGC members at Jimmy Jams on Wednesday nights for gaming. We also have the upcoming Game Day event on June 17th that I jump started on the forums. I cannot wait to see how that turns out. My hope is that the group will see it as a big success for the organization and something we might want to attempt on a regular basis. Hopefully events like this will assist in getting our name out in the community and warm everyone up for the day we finally have the convention here in Rochester.
The more recent ways would be the game days, helping to shape the overall processes used in RGC, being part of the people that worked on planning and implementing the Gamers Reunion convention and working with everyone to keep it going. I use to have weekly game nights at my place, but I've since had to stop that. I've also taken on the majority of the responsibility for the website. I think each time we revamp the site, it gets a little nicer and it definitely has a nice community feel at the moment.
In general I try to be a public face for RGC and hope people see it as a positive reflection on the group and check us out.
Tell us, when did this "gaming" take over your life? Or has it?
Gaming has not taken over my life. It does eat up a good portion of my income lately though. I would say that gaming has become a bit more prevalent in my life in recent months. Getting more involved in gaming had a lot to do with the wonderful people I met not only through RGC but up at Jimmy Jams as well. I also got caught up in the enthusiasm of seeing RGC become a reality and that has driven me even further into gaming. So between RGC and the A Game of Thrones community I have become a more serious gamer again. Prior to that I pretty much just ran an online Heroes Unlimited game, and played in a few as well, and played the occasional game at home with my wife and my son. Hanging out at Jimmy Jams and with other RGC members has introduced me to a few new games that I now play: D&D Minis, Star Wars Minis, Ticket to Ride, Apples to Apples, Vs (although I no longer collect the cards), and starting the Rochester meta has kept me extremely interested in continuing with A Game of Thrones.
How were you first introduced to the whole concept of gaming outside of a computer or a console system, when did you first learn about Role-playing Games, Collectable Card Games, or anything that you play?
Other than your typical kids games (I still remember playing Stratego in school as a young kid, and games of Connect Four over at a friend's house) my first real venture into gaming was with role-playing games.
I started role-playing around the age of 10 or so. For someone who liked to write, this was a perfect outlet for some of my overly active imagination. I started out with the old boxed version of basic Dungeons & Dragons. If you're a old school role-player, you remember it well; the old red box and the cheap dice that came with a crayon to color in the numbers. I stayed up all night reading those books. Role-playing has a special spot in my heart for me. You see, it was more than a game to me. My grandmother, the only real family I've ever had, bought that boxed set for me. She was a very special lady. I cherished each and every gift she ever got me. This particular gift has lasted a lifetime. She never attempted to criticize anything I ever did. She never tried to take away my dreams. In fact, she attempted to help them grow. She always believed in me. Anyway, I feel that every time I role play, I'm using the gift given to me by a very special person in my life. I have run many type of games over the years and even helped run massive online campaigns.
I sort of adventured into collectible cards games the same way most people did; through Magic: The Gathering. I played for several years and even ran online clans with tournaments. During that time I tried many of the other CCGs that came along but really never stuck with anything like I did Magic. Eventually the rules changed in Magic a little too much for me and I stopped playing that as well. Fast forward many, many years and I picked up the A Game of Thrones CCG because my wife and I completely love the books the game is based on. My wife has tried Magic with some of my older Magic cards, but did not really care for it one way or the other, but A Game of Thrones hooked us both right away.
With board games, beyond the early games I listed above and a few party games, really started once I joined RGC. I was more of a role-player when RGC first formed. I still love role-playing, but my board game collection has grown immensely over the last 3 years.
Has gaming been a good experience as a whole for you? Have you met many interesting people or seen interesting places?
I do think gaming has been a great experience as a whole. I cannot think of too many bad experiences overall. Sure everyone runs into that campaign that was not run well or the annoying player who ruins the fun factor from time to time, but there are still positives that can be taken away from those situations. I have met a lot of cool people through gaming in all phases of my life.
As for interesting people I have met because of gaming, I guess I would count Nate French and Luke Reed into that category. I met both Nate and Luke basically the day before each of them started working for Fantasy Flight Games and developed a decent friendship with both of them. Luke I actually talked to a few times online before actually meeting him since he was excited that I was putting together a Rochester meta for A Game of Thrones and he knew a couple of people in the area that might play. Both of these guys are really cool and I think the A Game of Thrones community is much better off knowing these two are working for the future of the game. Plus, they make the trip to Rochester whenever they can to play in our tournaments and meet the Rochester players. I think that has had a great impact on the local community. I met Travis Legge, the creator/developer of Contagion. He's a cool guy and Contagion is a great product. Unfortunately, it looks like Travis has moved on to strictly comics and Contagion has not seen any updated material in awhile.
As for interesting places, I have lived all over the United States, mostly up and down the east coast. I also went to Iraq and Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm. I never got the chance to drop in Kuwait though. That had nothing to do with gaming though; I was in the Army and sent over during the war. The only real gaming I did there was play Spades, lots and lots of Spades.
I did go to GenCon for free one year because of A Game of Thrones. I demo'd the game at GenCon for Fantasy Flight Games. In exchange, they paid for my ticket, hotel, and gave me a ride. That was cool, as it was my first time ever going to GenCon.
How does your family react to your daily or weekly Gaming escapades?
For the most part my family is supportive of me picking up another hobby to replace a few of the ones I gave up in the past few years. I use to play in pool leagues and had a great team that helped bring home quite a few trophies, but I got burnt out being the team captain and trying to keep everything running smooth, especially after one of my teammates moved to Chicago and drove back from time to time for tournaments. So I stopped playing pool, I have not collected comic books since I left the military because of the cost (I was dropping $50+ a week back in the 80s and 90s), I have not played Magic since around Ice Age, etc. Basically the only hobbies I kept was an online game of Heroes Unlimited and my movie collection (1200+ DVDs and still growing); neither of which really got me out much. So when my wife and I started playing A Game of Thrones and I eventually talked about starting a meta in Rochester, she told me to go for it. From the meta my interest in RGC grew and she's been supportive of that as well.
Sometimes trying to balance gaming/RGC/GR time with real life schedules can be tough. Especially now that I've started working a second, part time job.
My son does not seem to mind my gaming, especially since we started playing a modified version of Dungeons and Dragons miniatures. He loves my miniature collection and we get to play a game together which is always a bonus. So D&D minis are my son's gateway drug into gaming. ;-}
What would the 'ultimate gaming store' be in your mind?
The ultimate gaming store in my mind would be a place with plenty of room. I would love to see an area for free, public, open gaming and then possibly a rentable game area that could be used by gamers that want more privacy and a decent space to game. The game store would either have a serious amount of choices for food and drinks, or they would allow certain amount of outside food in. The store would have a clean and friendly environment. Oh, and it would have a decent set of evenings hours (open until at least 9PM during the week) to accommodate us gamers that work a typical day shift. I would love to see a gaming store that used the ultimate gaming table design I posted to the boards as their main tables. That would be sweet!
You are stranded on a desert island with a small group of people, what 3 games help you relieve the boredom?
This is a tough question now. My original answer was a bit easier, because I hadn't played a lot of board games yet. Now that I have, it is a bit harder to narrow down just 3.
I'd say give me Shadowrun, Last Night on Earth, and maybe Race For The Galaxy and I might be ok.
You suddenly find yourself a lottery winner, what do you use the money for? Do you stop working?
I first use the money for the basics of paying off bills, etc... After that I think I would love a shot at running the gaming store I talked about above. As far as work, I cannot see myself not working. I am not even sure if running the gaming store would be enough for me. My wife might have to run it during the day so I can continue being a programmer. I love what I do and I love my current job, so I would have to keep working in some capacity.
What is your all time favorite game? If you play multiple types of games, you can list a favorite for each category.
Role-playing: I feel like I should say D&D out of loyalty since it is the system I started on, and my previous answer was Heroes Unlimited based on the game setting and my personal campaign world (which I still love). But I think I'm going to have to go with Shadowrun, with Mutants & Masterminds coming in close behind it.
Board Game: There are so many good games I have been able to try by being a part of RGC that this is a tough category to pick a single game to represent. I am a big fan of Last Night on Earth, so I think I'll pick that for now. But man, I could list a lot of games here!
Miniatures: It use to be Star Wars or D&D miniatures, but at the moment I'd have to pick AT-43, even though I did not get to play it much. Mutant Chronicles might replace AT-43 once I get a few plays in. Heroscape is a great miniatures game as well.
Collectible Card Game: A Game of Thrones hands down. I use to play Magic, I tried Pokemon when my ex-girlfriend's daughter got into it heavily, and I have a box full of other collectible card games I have tried over the years, but nothing has captured my interest like A Game of Thrones. I just love the mechanics of the game. I love the strategy involved, and I love the books the game is based off of. I also do not think A Game of Thrones is as big of a rare chase as a lot of CCGs and have made competitive decks with mostly commons and uncommons. The A Game of Thrones community is awesome and the prize support is pretty decent for tournaments. (note: I have since stopped playing AGOT, but still have interest in it and debate picking up the latest edition.)
Card Game: This is a close one between Race For The Galaxy and Dominion at the moment. I am going to go with Race For The Galaxy, simply because I've played it a bit more.
Video Games: I play a lot of video games as well so this will be difficult too. On the console I like the X-Men Legends series. Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines on the computer has one of the scariest haunted mansion/hotel scenes ever. I don't even get jumpy at scary movies, etc. But I played through that scenario one night in the dark with my speakers up and it freaked me out. I was jumpy and my heart was racing. The Star Wars Knight of the old Republic games are great. Both Freedom Force games are cool. Pirates, Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, Grand Theft Auto (take your pick), Dungeon Siege, Black & White, Baldur's Gate, etc. All are great games and this particular list could go on forever. I just recently started playing World of Warcraft as well.
What game(s) do you want to play but have not yet?
Since the last time I answered this question, I have been able to try Mutants & Masterminds, Shadowrun, Kung Fu Fighting, Heroscape, and Mall of Horror thanks to being a part of RGC. So that is great. Now for the next generation list of games I want to try. ;-}
Agricola, Wasabi!, Android, Murder City, Dark Heresy, and CthulhuTech are a few I can think of off the top of my head.
Basically I am interested in trying just about anything once.
Is there a particular game or games you do not care for?
I seem to be in the minority for the people that did not like Morrowind. I just cannot get into this game no matter how hard I try, and I love computer RPGs. I kept putting it aside and coming back to it hoping I would like it, but I just cannot stand the game.
Settlers of Catan is an obvious one that everyone knows I can't stand. I know it's a popular game and a lot of people really enjoy it, but I really, REALLY can't stand it. It's a waste of time that I can't get back to play good games. ;-}
What is your favorite movie?
Man, this is a tough one since I collect movies. I might have to attempt categories for this one.
Comedy: 40-Year-Old Virgin and Waiting…
Comic Book: The Crow is an old favorite, but man Batman Begins & The Dark Knight brought a lot of faith back to comic book movies, didn't they? Yes, I also enjoyed the X-Men and Spider-Man movies.
Drama: This is a tough category because of all the great dramas, but I am going to go with The Shawshank Redemption I think.
Animated: The Incredibles.
Action: Desperado. Another hard choice to make though.
Horror: This is going to be tough. I have been a horror fan, especially b-movie horror films, for a long time. I love the Hellraiser series. Saw was great. The Grudge was pretty decent. Also the Dawn of the Dead remake was pretty good too, even if the zombies did move at a fast pace. The Sixth Sense and Stir of Echoes are great as well. Like I said, this is a tough category for me.
Sci-Fi: Serenity was a great movie that more people should have gone to see! Strange Days was a cool concept of a movie. And although a lot of people hate it (especially people that read the book - which I have not), I liked the first Starship Troopers.
I guess I will stop there. I know quite a few more categories I could go into. Although I do have to give honorable mentions to Poolhall Junkies, The Boondock Saints, and Equilibrium.
What is your favorite type of music?
I have a very eclectic collection of music. My CD collection is just slightly behind my DVD collection. I use to be a DJ so I have a lot of variety in my music. I listen to everything from some Country to Heavy Metal and Alternative Rock to R&B and Pop, but my main listening is hardcore hip-hop. I grew up on it, I played it a lot as a DJ, and I still listen to it today. This tends to surprise a lot of people. I won't get into my background a lot, but trust me it fits. ;-}
What are some of your favorite books/authors?
George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series has easily climbed to my top 3 all time favorite series of books. (Come out with the next book, George! PLEASE!) Let's see; no one writes a fight scene like R.A. Salvatore. Orson Scott Card's Ender series is pretty decent, especially since I read more fantasy than sci-fi. The Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weiss & Tracy Hickman is an excellent read, as are the main Dragonlance books by them as well. Joel Rosenberg's Guardians of the Flame are an excellent read as well. This series is about a group of role-players that get turned into their characters by the GM who happens to be a wizard from another reality. I like Terry Brooks, Terry Goodkind, Michael Moorcock, and Paoilini.
Can you give us your favorite gaming story?
Well, I think it would go back to when I was in the Army and after I came back from the war and was stationed in Virginia. I hooked up with a gaming group that played D&D every weekend. Eventually we got tired of D&D and started running Heroes Unlimited. This was my first experience with the game and I have been playing it ever since. After awhile the gaming group sort of filtered out, which happens on a military base as people get transferred, and in the end it was just me and my friend playing in each other's worlds. We would switch of GMing Heroes Unlimited every Saturday and Sunday. We both played multiple characters in each others worlds and a lot of times had to face off against our own characters if the situation came up that put them at odds.
One of my characters was a space combat military type. She was all gung-ho and always got the job done, but had a way of getting herself almost killed all the time until she finally was more machine than human anymore. Her nickname was Lady Ace or Ace of Spades. Somehow she ended up on a planet with a few of my other characters and they ended up being at odds. The group she was with was on the run from my wolf-like alien that could turn himself into electricity. I remember him catching her scent and breaking away from his group to give chase. The rest of his team could not keep up, so they just followed as best they could.
Lady Ace was being urged to run through the forest by the group she hooked up with, all of them in a panic about being caught by my wolf-like alien. At first, Lady Ace complied with their wishes and simply ran along with them, but it really got on her nerves because it was not her style. As she ran, her hearing implants caught the sound of the chase and she got fed up with running so she simply stopped. The group she was with continued to plead with her to keep going. She simply held up her hand and in her commanding voice said, "Give me a minute."
Lady Ace lowered herself to one knee and took out her most lethal weapon. She went into total concentration mode and sighted the weapon towards the approaching noises she heard. The people with her were in a complete panic. It was at this point my friend asked me what my intentions were. I looked at him and said, "Simple. Headshot. Lady Ace is pissed off about running and she plans to make a statement about it." My friend chuckled and asked me if that was really what I wanted to do. I said yes. The die roll: a natural 20.
My wolf-like alien made it to the small clearing in time to look up and get the full blast right in the face, taking his head clean off.
Lady Ace simply stood up, looked at the people she was with (who were all awestruck) and said, "Now we can go." My friend stopped the game for awhile to let the laughter drain from him and repeat over and over again, "Man, I cannot believe you did that! To your own character! That was cold, man!"
That was just Lady Ace. ;-}